Kampong Ayer- Brunei's Unique Water Village

It has been called by some 'The Venice of the East'....Kampong Ayer (malay meaning 'Water village') is definitely worth a wander round when visiting Brunei. The houses in the water village are joined by rather rickety wooden plank walkways but you need to catch a water taxi from the land out to the village initially.  The 'village' is rather large and divided into smaller , named  areas but its rather easy to get lost .

 For hundreds of years, Brunei-Malays have chosen to live on stilt houses above the Brunei Muara River. Traditionally fishermen and craftsmen, this indigenous ethnic group were originally  found in the Brunei-Muara district, the largest ( population wise) district in Brunei.
They are still residing there today in their thousands- around 20,000 of them although the government is gradually encouraging this population to take up life in a house with land ,offering incentives such as interest- free loans or free land. Any Bruneian over the age of 18 can apply for a piece of land from His Majesty,as long as they don't already own a house.

Brunei has seven distinct indigenous ethnic groups, all of whom are found in all four districts nowadays.Each of these groups have their own culture and traditions which still being practiced today.

As a member of Ferdinand Magellan's voyage of discovery,Italian scribe Antonio Pigafetta arrived in Brunei by boat around 1521. Magellan had already passed away somewhere in the Philippines. Pigafettta wrote a very detailed account of his visit - from how a herd of liveried elephants arrived  at the boat to carry them up to the Sultan's palace, to eating food off gold plates. No little detail was unimportant. He noted that about 25,000 Brunei-Malays were living in the thriving water village, mostly making their living as fishermen. Bruneians were seen to be welcoming and friendly.

Not much has changed since 1521 it seems. The inhabitants of Kampong Ayer are still welcoming and friendly. Small children wave and yell hello before leaping into the river, ( Not the cleanest!) swimming with their friends.
A few still make their living from the river and sea but most make their way over the 'mainland' by water taxi daily to take up their jobs in various government departments, the government being the  largest employer in Brunei.